thoughts on social conditioning

It feels a little strange to be writing this while i watch the first game of the world series, but oh well!

Last night I had an assignment for my marketing class to take an association quiz, which would measure how closely i associate gender to career. Going into the quiz, i knew my results would show at least some association between males & career and females & family simply because of our society - which is still not completely blind to gender. However I definitely did not expect my results to tell me that I, personally, make a strong association between gender and career.

For most of my life both of my parents had very demanding careers. Seven years ago my dad decided that his career wasn't fulfilling anymore. So my mom has been the only one that I've associated with a career for a while now. Considering this, my quiz results got me thinking about how big a role social conditioning actually plays in our lives. It amazes me how much we learn without knowing it & the associations we make even while blatantly trying to avoid making them.

Even though there were several design flaws in the quiz, the inner-feminist inside myself cringed as i considered my results. I actually felt ashamed for a little while.

But I do have to admit: as feminist as I may be (which isn't as much as people generally think), i have always wanted to be a housewife. It's one of those little contradictions i'll never quite understand. :)

WOW it's been too long

sometimes i feel guilty that i only use my blog when i need it, but that's what they're for, right?

i'm feeling very overwhelmed this week & i don't even have any exams.. yikes!

I have had three marketing quizzes in a row, which seems a little overkill to me. 3 quizzes on one section? really necessary? Also in marketing, I have a group experiment/paper/presentation AND a group analysis paper all due next week. In between this week & next is what's supposed to be my fall break, & since i'm the only one of my group members who's not going home for fall break, i'm anticipating i'll get stuck with all three assignments....

sometimes i hate being a leadership major, people automatically expect you to organize every meeting, everyone's schedules etc. I am not the only person who is capable of this! and actually, it would be much easier for everyone if it was a group effort!

In other news, this is going to be a very significant year for me.

• i was recently nominated to the Exemplary Leaders Circle, a group of elite students in my major who get to partake in several activities organized by our main professors & faculty. Our first adventure is to meet with the new provost of the University

• i'm the president of the registered student organization associated with my major & we've had a very successful first meeting & first outing. The club's bigger than it's ever been!

• I'm taking a class called "Assessing Obama's First Year," which is exciting on its own, but even more exciting because the lecture series includes David Axelrod, senior advisor to Obama, David Plouffe (Obama's former campaign manager), and Colin fucking Powell, among others..
• I'll start looking for grad schools/ seriously considering the peace corps... wtf
• I'll be traveling to Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Thailand & Jordan.

This is the part of my year i'm most excited about! I leave January 1st which seems ALL too close for my liking. I still need to mentally prepare for the 5 wonders of the world i'll see & the harsh realities i will encounter in these countries. Destitute poverty & children with literally no one in the world who cares if they live through the night, other children who sell their bodies for money, and a prevalence of men & women who entertain the notion (and then act on the notion) that it's okay to kidnap people in order to make money.

Not to mention, i need to physically prepare, get supplies and get packed... but i'm getting a little ahead of myself. Maybe I should just finish this paper for now...

peace & blessings, peace & blessings!